This invention relates generally to oil wells and in particular to a method and apparatus for stimulating oil production of wells having a low or impaired permeability.
Conditions in existing oil wells that have been producing oil for a number of years often requires remedial work or stimulation to improve the production of fluids from the formation. This stimulation may involve improvement of the permeability of the reservoir itself or merely a clearing the well bore of contamination due to drilling fluid penetration or accumulation of heavy hydrocarbons, paraffins, or tars near or at the well bore or deposition of formation fines in casing perforations or slots of well bore liners.
The methods employed in the past included shock treatments with explosives, solvent wash and the like.
The other methods utilize hydraulic pressure pumping of fluids into the oil bearing formation in an attempt to sweep or flush the debris in the clogged passages back into the cracks and extend the formation fractures and prop them open with sand. Such methods require hydraulic pumps of high pressure capability and also require the temporary positioning of a packer above the oil bearing strata.